I have a narrow flower bed on the West side of the house that gets afternoon sun that I recently started planning things. When I started planting perennials this spring, I didn't have much knowledge about these weeds and hoed but didn't remove all the woody stems, and they keep coming up. I try to stay diligent in pulling them and now digging up those roots but I am definitely fighting a loosing battle.

I do not like them there and definitely would like to remove, and want to avoid chemicals (although it sounds like they don't respond well to chemicals anyways). The area is all mulched and has some perennial flowers and shrubs. What's my best strategy? Do I need to like dig a couple of inches of soil and just replace with new topsoil or something to start fresh? Is there any way? Do I just keep digging?

Help!!